Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has met U.S President Joe Biden and other world leaders at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.
Romania has promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and the president said Romania is committed to reducing carbon emissions and raising greater public awareness about climate change.
Toilet
The two-day UN conference which has gathered leaders from 120 countries is seen as crucial if temperature increases, and changes to the climate, are to be limited.
The world is now about 1.2C warmer than it was in the 19th Century – and extreme weather events like heatwaves, floods and forest fires are already becoming more intense.
UN Chief Secretary-General António Guterresas on Monday urged the world’s leaders and people around the world to “stop treating nature like a toilet,” at the opening of the summit.
The 2015 Paris climate conference called for average temperatures to rise by well below 2C, and preferably only 1.5C, when compared to pre-industrial averages.
The Romanian president was pictured shaking hands with the American president on Monday. Romania is a staunch ally of the U.S. on NATO’s eastern flank and hosts a number of U.S. and NATO bases.
The presidential administration published photos of Mr Iohannis with other leaders.
Greenhouse gases
There is a lack of public awareness about climate change in Romania, although the country is committed to reducing greenhouse gases as an EU member.
The president pledged to have”an integrated approach” to climate change „cutting carbon emissions and implementing solutions based on green technology to reduce emissions in the energy and industrial sector” as well as educating people about climate change.
The president will have bilateral and multilateral meetings during the conference about how to tackle climate chance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a statement from the president’s office said.
Challenges
„Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that humanity is facing, and we are in a climate emergency,” a statement said.
„The effects of climate change do not respect borders and people are are becoming more exposed to them,” the president said.
Involved
The Romanian president is determined „to get actively involved with other world leaders, international organizations, business and environment groups to support the global effort to combat climate change.”
As a European Union member, Romania is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
